It's hard out there for a clown. With society at large still harboring somewhat of a collective fear of the cheerful birthday party friendly jesters, it's not exactly easy for someone in the profession to get by. Just ask some of the folks in that line of work, as a couple have stepped forward to voice their displeasure with the trailer for director Andres Muschietti's remake of Stephen King's IT. Their reason being that this horrifying trailer will do further harm to their already ailing business.
Guilford "Gilly" Adams was one of those professional clowns that spoke with Mel Magazine about the supposedly negative effect that New Line's two-part remake is going to have on those practicing the hallowed art of squeaky-shoed levity. While he doesn't lay the complete blame on IT-mania, Adams does feel the following conditions aren't helped by the film's presence:
It's a dying profession. And the people who do it and scrape together a living have to grapple with the fact that it's cool and hip not to like clowns.
It's certainly been a rough time for clowns to exist in popular culture, as it was only last year that there were random sightings of clowns freaking people out and beckoning them into the woods. Even then, IT was initially blamed for the suspicious sightings, with folks thinking that it was a low-key marketing ploy to put the film into the public consciousness. While those accusations were eventually debunked, the professional clown industry still suffered a setback that it had already recovered from.
But when a trailer for a killer clown's crusade of terror in the small town of Derry, Maine happens to rack up even more views in 24 hours than The Fate Of The Furious, everyone's going to pay attention. Even Guilford Adams, whose takeaway from IT's cultural resurgence is the following, dour prognosis:
The ultimate prick in this [IT movie] is that it's going to turn young consumers away from an art form that's sweet and nice and not about the Kardashians and Minecraft.
While not all clowns are shunned in our society, it's undeniable that Pennywise's revival in the public eye is certainly going to inspire a lot of children and adults to think twice before they approach someone dressed like a clown. But, as with the 1990 TV miniseries, the clown industry will hopefully weather the storm. It might be harder this time around, but with folks like Gilly Adams on the job, there's always be someone to keep the art of clowning afloat.
IT will make life a living hell for audiences and professional clowns when its first installment arrives on September 8th. Meanwhile, if you need an antidote to all of the clown hysteria, we suggest enjoying the music of Puddles' Pity Party. He may not float, but boy can he croon.
